1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image registration system, an image registration server, and an image transmission server, and an image registering method and an image transmitting method.
2. Background of the Invention
Systems for uploading image data into image servers through networks have been constructed. In such a system, when an image server is accessed by a personal computer, image data uploaded in the image server is downloaded into the personal computer. An image represented by the downloaded image data is displayed on a display device in the personal computer.
Technical innovation has allowed client computers other than the personal computers to access the image server. It has been possible to display an image represented by the image data downloaded from the image server on a display device in each type of client computer. For example, a portable telephone set, a portable information terminal, or the like can access the image server.
If a device to which a display device having a relatively large screen can be connected accesses the image server, for example, a personal computer, the device is not very unhandy to read an image represented by image data downloaded from the image server even if the size of the image is relatively large.
If a device which accesses the image server has a relatively small display screen, for example, a portable telephone set or a portable information terminal, an image represented by image data transmitted from the image server is relatively larger than the display screen. Accordingly, the image is difficult to see.
Therefore, it is also considered that when the client computer accesses the image server, processing for reducing image data is performed in the image server such that the image data represents an image of a size suitable for a display screen of a display device in the client computer each time the access is made.
Since the processing for reducing the image data is started when the client computer accesses the image server, however, time is required until the transmission of the reduced image data to the client computer from the image server is started. It takes a relatively long time until an image is displayed on the display device in the client computer. Even if the image server is accessed, the image cannot, in some cases, be quickly displayed.